You Never Know What's Lurking in the Shadows
by snowflake99
Summary: He's always there, watching her. Whichever way she turns he's there with a cold and calculating look upon his face and to be honest its driving Hermione insane. A Draco/Hermione story.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N- Hi everyone, it's me snowflake99 back with another story but this time, it's not a one-shot! This is the first chapter of about four or five, I haven't really made up my mind yet. I will try to update every week but with exams and revision etc this might not always be possible. **

**This story is AU and set in the trio's seventh year. It completly disregards everything that happened in book seven. **

**This story is also dedicated to all my readers especially uniquegrl7 and hahaheeheehaha who have reviewed almost almost all of my stories and your comments mean a lot to me:) Now on with the story! Enjoy...**

He was always there watching her. Everywhere she went, she could feel his piercing eyes boring into her. He was always silent, his expression unreadable which although she would never admit it, terrified Hermione a little. Of course if she mentioned her thoughts to Ginny her immediate reaction would be that Hermione was hallucinating because of stress. Ever since she had noticed Malfoy's unusual behaviour she had become much more jumpy and constantly on edge ready for and attack that never came. Indeed maybe she had been hallucinating when, for a fleeting second she thought she saw Malfoy staring at her that night late in the library when everyone had left with a look of look of anger, hatred but also tinged with sadness but deep down Hermione knew that it couldn't possibly be just hallucinations.

At meal times, she always felt uneasy and sick to her stomach when ever she caught his gaze from the slytherin table making the hairs of the back of her neck stand on end. Yet whenever she turned round, ready to confront him about his odd behaviour, she would find him acting completely naturally, his face passive and rid of all emotion. Hermione could feel his presence constantly surrounding her and her paranoia about the whole situation had become so overwhelming, she had to pause every now an then and turn around just to check if he was following her again. More than once, she had seen him out of the corner of her eye skulking in the shadows; his grey eyes surveying her, trying to drink in her entire appearance but the second she turned towards him, it was as though he had melted into the darkness. It scared her how he managed to appear right beside her as if from no where and then disappear from sight in another moment. A thousand questions buzzed round her head every minute of every day the prominent being "What does he want from me?"

Draco Malfoy was a death eater and as she was often warned by Harry and Ron, he was dangerous. He had to be, how many other death eaters became inducted into Lord Voldemort's inner circle at the age of sixteen? There was no doubt in her mind that he had played a part in the sick games of the death eater- torturing muggles and muggle-borns. He had probably killed ruthlessly on Voldemort's orders. "Maybe he wants to kill me" whispered Hermione, her stomach now in knots. Was he like an animal hunting for its prey, just waiting for an opportune moment to strike? Should she go and tell Dumbledore? That idea almost seemed laughable in her head as she pictured the scenario in her minds eye. Draco Malfoy was perfectly at liberty to stare at her but unless he attacked her, there was absolutely nothing the headmaster could do about it. Hermione took a shaky breath as she carried on walking towards the library. Telling Ron or Harry was also out of the question. They were in the middle of the wildreness somewhere, searching for horcruxes while she continued her research and training at Hogwarts. They both had a lot on their mind and there was no point in worrying them over something they couldn't do anything about.

Words couldn't describe how much she hated Draco Malfoy with a passion. She hated him for every fibre of his being and all the pureblood mania he whole heartedly believed in. She hated him for everything he was making her become; paranoid and a nervous wreck. She hated him for playing mind games with her how it not only affected her awake but also in her dreams too. She however hated herself for the effect she was letting him have on her. Her heart would start to thump rapidly in her chest every time she caught him watching her. Every time he brushed past her whether by accident or on purpose it would always send shivers down her spine. His gaze was enough to make the hairs on the back of her neck prickle as a whole mixture of different emotions washed over her. Trying to push all thoughts of him out of her head, she pushed open the large mahogany door to the library and walked down the various aisles until she found her favourite table and settled down, trying to concentrate on her studies.

The library which had once been her sanctuary, her haven where she could loose herself amongst the dusty tomes of books was now almost too quiet for her liking. The slightest footstep behind her was enough to make her jump up and withdraw her wand, ready to attack and if Hermione was completely honest with herself it was driving her insane. As she poured over her transfiguration essay willing her mind to focus she could have sworn she heard someone whisper her name and out of the corner of her eye, she caught a fleeting glimpse of that all too familiar platinum blond hair, disappearing round the corner. Her heart started to beat rapidly once more as she now felt very alone. She could hear Malfoy's footsteps running deeper into the library before fading to silence. Wide eyed she turned around sharply and withdrew her wand, her arm shaking slightly. He was here somewhere, she knew it. Maybe he was going to murder her right now and no one would know. There was silence now except for the ticking of the clock hanging up on the wall. _Tick tock tick tock…._ Abruptly she stood up and turned around, her wand still out, straining her ears for any sounds. _CRASH _She jumped about a mile in the air as she heard something smashing somewhere towards the back of the library and nearly screamed in terror. Hastily she stuffed her belongings into her satchel and ran out the library as fast as her legs would carry her. She ran blindly into the corridor and slumped against the wall breathing deeply. Hermione closed her eyes and leant her head back, trying to regain composure. She couldn't go on like this. She had to sort out this mess before she went completely insane.

**So what did you think? Please review! I'll give you a virtual cookie :P**


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: I'm really sorry about not updating any of my stories, I have stupid gcse's at the moment but as a break from revision I thought I'd write a bit more of this one. I hate exams so much! Everything is just really stressful at the moment so I don't think I'll be updating again untill the end of june but don't worry I promise I will finish all of my fanfics! I just don't know when I'll finish them:P. Also a big thank you to the three people that reviewed virtual cookies to all of**** you**

**Anyway, that's enough of me rambling, on with the next chapter! **

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything except the plot**

He was under some kind of spell, just had to be. What else could explain the strange hypnosis Gryffindor's little miss know it all had him under. "Stupid fucking mudblood" he hissed venomously as he kicked the wall in frustration. She was everything he had been born to hate, everything he had been brought up to despise. She was lower than the dirt on the soles of his shoes, after all he was a pureblood and from a respected and feared family. Granger had come from the gutter, born to a muggle family. She was inferior to him perhaps in everyway except for one. She was undoubtedly more knowledgeable than him and excelled at every subject which was shown in her perfect exam results. The very thought made his blood boil, how could the mudblood be better at him at anything? Granger was just too damn perfect at everything for her own good. Of course she wasn't so perfect now. Lately she had become a jumpy little thing, always checking the empty corridors behind her to check if he was following her. Of course that still begged the question why was he following her? "The only reason I'm following the stupid mudblood is because of father's orders" he repeated to himself over and over again. What other reason could there possibly be for him to waste so much of his time following the Gryffindor around?

"_Keep an eye on her Draco; she will undoubtedly be snooping around for information to feed to Potter and Weasley. We can't have her finding out anything that would give away the Dark Lord's plans now can we?" _

"Keep an eye on her" he muttered under his breath, his father's words coming back to him. That was all it was, he was merely keeping an eye on her. _"Keeping an eye on her doesn't mean stalking her at all hours of the day and night now does it"_ taunted the niggling voice at the back of his head. He pounded another fist against the wall, seething with rage at her. If she was here was here right now, he would kill her with his bare hands for everything that she was doing to him. _"But you wouldn't kill her would you Draco. You wouldn't be able to kill anyone you spineless wimp. That dark mark on you arm proves nothing" mocked the voice again cruelly. _With the Dark Lord it was simple, kill or be killed, torture or be tortured. So far he had managed to worm his way out of torturing and killing but deep down he knew that he couldn't keep running forever. The mere thought of murdering someone was petrifying to Draco although he would never admit it to anyone. Of course some may argue that standing back and watching someone else being murdered is just as bad but he tried to push those feelings as far away from his mind as possible. He never really wanted to be a death eater; it was something that he had gotten thrown into and now it seemed as if there was no way out. He was trapped and each option he had looked just as bad as the next one.

From his position in the shadow of the alcove beside the entrance to the library he watched her scurrying into it like a rabbit into a hole. She twitched nervously, continually checking the empty corridor behind her. He followed her as though there was some sort of magnetic force between them. Hate couldn't describe how much he loathed her. She was simply intoxicating, like some sort of drug- he just had to keep going back for more. His obsession with her was getting, quite frankly, out of control. She had a beauty about her that was almost addictive. Every time he caught sight of her, he tried to memorize every little detail about her. From his position behind the bookshelves, he saw her unpack her belongings and started to work on her essay, the black quill scratching away on the parchment. He smirked as he saw her wand lying on the desk, her left hand resting protectively on it. At least he was having an effect on her. She feared him, they all feared him- wasn't that what he wanted? He watched her as she tucked the curly brown strands of hair repeatedly behind her ear as every few seconds they would fall back in front of her face. He studied her as she would lick her lips subconsciously; her red red lips. "Hermione" he whispered breathlessly.

Suddenly Hermione's head snapped up and their eyes met for a fleeting moment before he ran, twisting and turning amongst the bookshelves his heart thumping against his chest. He slowed down and with shaking hands Draco pulled out a vial of calming draught and struggled to pull the stopper out the top. "What is she doing to me, if anyone finds out about this I'll be killed" he thought as he managed to pull the stopper out of the vial. His hands were shaking so much that the vial slipped from his hands and shattered on the table with a resounding crash. As the blue liquid spread all over the table and dripped steadily on the floor Draco slumped against the bookcase pondering bitterly about the sorry excuse for a life he had.

**Short I know but please review and tell me what you think! **


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